BEA'S BOOK NOOK
"I can't imagine a man really enjoying a book and reading it only once." C. S. Lewis
“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all.” ― Oscar Wilde

Truth Be Told,
part of the bestselling Jane Ryland and Jake Brogan series by Agatha,
Anthony, Mary Higgins Clark, and Macavity Award-winning author Hank
Phillippi Ryan, begins with tragedy: a middle-class family evicted from
their suburban home. In digging up the facts on this heartbreaking
story—and on other foreclosures— reporter Ryland soon learns the truth
behind a big-bucks scheme and the surprising players who will stop at
nothing, including murder, to keep their goal a secret. Turns out,
there’s more than one way to rob a bank.

Boston police detective
Jake Brogan has a liar on his hands. A man has just confessed to the
famous twenty-year-old Lilac Sunday killing, and while Jake’s colleagues
take him at his word, Jake is not so sure. But he has personal reasons
for hoping they’ve finally solved the cold case.

Financial
manipulation, the terror of foreclosures, the power of numbers, the
primal need for home and family and love. What happens when what you
believe is true turns out to be a lie?

Bea's Thoughts:

Ms. Ryan has been on my radar for a while as she's a local author and news reporter. I've picked up several of her paperbacks, but haven't read them yet. Still, when the chance to review this came up, I happily said yes. When I picked it up to start reading it, I realized that I had the first book in the series so I switched and read that one, then this one. That wasn't necessary; "Truth Be Told" could easily be read as a stand-alone.

There are two stories going on in "Truth Be Told". Jane is doing a story on the rise in foreclosures in Boston and surrounding towns while her sort-of boyfriend, police detective Jake, is trying to determine whether a confession to a murder 20 years ago is genuine. Before long, the cases intersect and more, related, cases crop up. "Truth Be Told" is a complicated, sometimes twisty, occasionally slow investigation into the financial and emotional aspects of foreclosure that doesn't neglect the human component. It also looks at the effect an unsolved case can have on a police officer. Reading the political portions of the story was fun since I live in the state where the book is set and I kept trying to match the fictional characters with real people.

Jane is a competitive reporter, trying to get her career back on track after an incident several years ago. But she's also compassionate and Ryan did a fantastic job of showing us a reporter who's looking for a story but doesn't forget about the people involved and the conflicts between the demands of the job and being a decent human being.

Jake is determined to do things the right way and to make sure that, instead of simply arresting a viable person, that he arrests the right person. Sometimes, that puts him at odds with his co-workers. They aren't corrupt, but are inclined to take the easy solution whereas Jake is not.

One aspect of the story that I didn't like was the relationship between Jake and Jane. He's a cop, she's a reporter; both their jobs have policies in place about being involved. In the first book, they were fighting their attraction. Apparently, in the second book, which I haven't read, they got together. In this book, they're together but keeping it a secret. There's tension because of their jobs, then a ridiculously long and unnecessary series of miscommunications results in jealousy on both their parts. Of course, this affected their work, which affected how events played out resulting in a few predictable scenes. Also, Jane has conveniently misplaced or left her purse in both books now, leading to predictable results. And the only time she does this is when she's about to be in danger and can't have access to her cell phone or car keys. At least she didn't need saving; she was quick-witted and handled the matter.

The investigative work, both police and news, the local flavor, the variety and realism of story lines were all well done but Ryan really needs to resolve this romantic relationship and move it along, preferably without more cliches or tired tropes.

"Truth Be Told" was a well-crafted mystery with enough twists to keep me reading, and there was one towards the end that completely surprised me. I had to read it several times, certain I'd read it wrong. Ryan has a nice eye for detail, a twisty mind, her reportorial and investigative experience is obvious, and she spins a tale that'll keep you reading.

13 comments:

I am intrigued by this author, after reading The Wrong Girl; Jane was also in that book. I wonder if Jane misplaces things because she is scattered and disorganized...or if this is just a convenient plot point. LOL

This sounds like the kind of book I adore. Sounds like the author has taken a real situation (the foreclosure of so many homes during the recent mortgage crisis) and built her story around it. I'd like to meet her characters and see how their stories intertwine. Thanks for including your thoughts on the book.My Friday post features Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind.

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